genres: metal + alternative rock
For being my favorite genre, there’s quite a number of foundational metalcore bands I’ve never been able to get into. Killswitch Engage certainly fits into that category. I like every element that they are working with, but it has never connected for me personally. And sharing the majority of songwriting members, I didn’t enter this album with particular anticipation despite enjoying Times Of Grace’s 2011 debut The Hymn of a Broken Man. I expected satisfyingly technical metalcore, a smattering of intriguing atmospheric elements, and spiritually introspective lyrics. Songs of Loss and Separation subverts most of those expectations, and the result is one of the most compelling and moving metal albums in recent years.
Off the bat, it’s clear that metalcore is not the primary genre the band is interested in exploring in 2021. Occasional elements pop up – the verses on “Rescue” are textbook Gothenburg-influenced metalcore that rival any of the riffs in earlier Times Of Grace or even Killswitch Engage – but the overall sound is a complete reimagining of what modern metal could look like given the same influences but grown into new forms. Album opener “The Burden of Belief” sounds closer to early country rock in the opening minutes than anything else, as does the subsequent “Mend You” before that tracks transforms into an absolutely roaring conclusion. These country/southern rock vibes permeate most tracks to a certain extent, sometimes plainly, othertimes filtered through sludgy desert/stoner metal. Compositionally, the tracks embrace experimentation even further, marrying traditional verse/chorus structure with progressive instrumental writing and a sense of ebb-and-flow pace and emotion that would make many post-rock bands jealous. Holding it all together is the absolutely incredible vocal performance delivered by Jesse Leach. Despite long being regarded as among the top-tier of vocalists in the genre, Leach reveals a much wider range than previously shown. Clean vocals dominate the record, and the dynamicism and ability to convey multiple emotions in the same song, but it’s the punctuating screams that are the most surprising. While Killswitch Engage’s style calls for a mostly mid-pitch scream, but freed from that expectation, Leach shows shrieking highs and near deathcore lows that just add an incredible level of texture and depth.
Lyrically, the album also exceeds expectations and precedent. The Hymn of a Broken Man took the uplifting audience directed encouragement frequent to the subgenre and raised the stakes by mixing in personal spiritual struggles and triumphs. Songs of Loss and Separation keeps that thematic playbook, while simplifying things in a beautiful way. Taking a more autobiographical voice and poetic tone allows the seriousness of topics being discussed sink even further in. Topics jump scales between family, church, and society as a whole, but that focus on how it affects the individual is never lost. While picking highlights here is hard due to the consistent standout nature of every track, “Far From Heavenless” is a special track. Perhaps the least cryptic and most focused track in the band’s (or related acts’) catalog, it borrows directly New Testament language in attacking false teachers in the church and the harm that they can bring the congregation. While the topic has been covered from many angles in the past, the ability to mix scathing conviction with humility and ultimately triumph is a balancing act that is executed perfectly.
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